A map of the Texas Coast is projected on a screen as Deb Nowinski, a disability integration coordinator, gives information to a caller regarding the approach of Hurricane Harvey at the Galveston County Office of Emergency Management Emergency Operations Center in Dickinson, Texas, Thursday, Aug. 24, 2017. (Stuart Villanueva/The Galveston County Daily News via AP)

The Gulf Coast prepared for the worst Thursday as Hurricane Harvey swirled towards the shoreline.

Labeled a "life-threatening storm" by forecasters, Harvey -- now a Category 1 hurricane -- is projected to become a Category 3 hurricane by the time it makes landfall. The last storm that size to hit the U.S. was Hurricane Wilma in 2005.

Millions of people across dozens of counties between Port O'Connor and Matagorda Bay -- an area that is mostly farmland interspersed with vacation homes -- are bracing for impact. Texans are evacuating, or stocking up on storm supplies like bottled water, sandbags and non-perishable foods.

HARVEY'S PATH

The hurricane is supposed to reach the coast by late Friday or early Saturday.